Comb wiper for seed strippers



March 16, 1954 JR 2,672,004

COMB WIPER FOR SEED STRIPPERS Filed July 20, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1nImmumunnmnnmu lIHIllllllllHlHllHlllHlll III E: III \T 4 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS.

March 16, 1954 J GAY, JR 2,672,004

I COMB WIPER FOR SEED STRIPPERS Filed July 20, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet -2 VINVENTOR. W005 Dal/614s GAY, Jf,

ATTORNEYS.

- w ner shown R e Patented Mar. 16, 1954 UNITED PATENT 2,672,0Q14

C MB W EB FOR SE D S'EKIBPE S' .ilac lrllouslss d ngl ine n velist C rroraii n fari Erna corners t G y-Be ,9 tion f Kentucky as re ApplicationJuly 20, 1944), Serial 'No. 105,689

8 .Qlahmsl 'Myinvention relates to a comb wiper for' use ona, seedstripper for wiping the stripped seed offcthe comb during the strippingoperation. The conventional' type or" seed stripper includes. ahorizontalstripping comb which is vmoved through the field of grass :orgrain so that the individual stalks carrying the seed slip between theteeth of the comb which are spaced apart the-approximate diameter of thestalks. In this'way, the

seed is; stripped'from the stalk as the comb-moves onwa-rdly.

hile the comb :normally strips the seed from the stalk,.atxtimes thestalk is broken and becomes wedged between adjacent teeth,

r In the usual practice, necessary tome-n- :ually continue to sweep-theseed from the sin"- iace of the .comb back into a trough .orconveyorwhich is usually positioned behind the comb. It is also necessary tobreakofi or remove-stalks jammed between adjacent teeth. 1 It is anobject of my invention to provide a "comb wiper which ccntinuallyivipesthe. stripped -seed from the surface of the comb and which also shearsanyof the stalk .or'hay which has become dammed between adjacent teeth.

.It is a further object of my invention .tonrovideo comb wiper which.does notina'nre seed :inzany way and which does not tend to-fforcethf-stalk between the teeth or the comb. in such a way as to jam the samebetween the teeth.

, It. is .a further object of my invention to ."nrowiden" comb wiperwhich will shear off or .cnt hanyistalksor hay I jammed between theteeth,

' it is .a fnrther ebject [of my invention to brovide a comb wiper whichis very ru ed construction and very simple sotnat maintenance randrepairare at 'flbese-androther obi. ctsoi my int ntion whic e annare scribeanexemr arvemb d .d a: Arise wbicbs rom a par s a, pla ie with pa brok nawa "Fi u is an e d el a ion .of atbestrippsren Jieure .3 is aIraementary seesaw s owing the. com oi the seed s r pp r wh n strip ins3 butsnows fi ureis an en arged -=pa t a s on the section line 5-5 ofFigure 2 and Fig ure 6.

(Qt 5km?) 2 Figure 61s a transverse section of the wiper taken on thesection line lie-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 isan enlarged plan View of a portion of my wiper showing thewiper blade mounting. Figures is a section taken on the section lineBeat of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectiontaken on the seotiontiineee-il of Figure7.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, 1 proo video. comb wiperconsisting of a cylindrical framework rotating on an axis parallel toandspaced above the surface of the stripper comb. The stripper comb isdrawn through the field at a rate between three and five miles an hourand provision is made for rotating the cylindrical framework. On theiramewol-"kpl provide wiping blades which are resiliently forcedoutwardly from the framework and so positioned that-they will wipeacross the upper suriaoe of m the comb brushing the stripped seed intoanonveyorto the rear of the comb. The, wiper blades are providedwith .acutting edge so that in the event any stalks or straw is jammed betweenadjacent teeth of the homo-they will be sheared off against the base orthe comb and swept along with the seed into the conveyor.

"I preferably mount-.a' plurality .of relatively :short bladeson thecylindrical framework in :a helical rormation'around the surface. Thistends to balance the structure and also to make the sweeping-of the combprogressive. The-framework revolves at arelatively slow speed, approxi--mately-nfty revolutions per minute. By this adiustment of speeds, -anumber of stalks are stripped and .the seed permitted to stack .up sonthe comb before the wiping blade wipes them into the conveyor behind thecomb.

While-I have shown a plurality of wiping blades arranged in the helicalmanner'around my-eylindricalrframe, it is within :the contemplation of=my invention to provide a single long ablade .where'th-is would beappropriate, or to arrange a plurality .of blades either in a straightline the full length of the frame or in other nonfigurations than ahelix.

45 I have shown the stripper being drawn a ltractoriwhich also providesthe-power for-rotating the frame. v"However, it is understood that astripper may be colic-motivated, pushed, or pulled by any kindermecbaniem, or by mean .ef borseeandtne power w im rotates th m mem #93an .131??- Referring to the drawings, the strippingisms-sis up of a rlaa iive te =2, s aced apart a distance sl sn lar er than 55 the diameterof the grass stalks being stripped.

Figures 5 and '7).

3 The comb I is mounted on a framework 3, which in turn rides on wheels4 and i drawn over the surface of the field by a tractor or the like 5.

In the drawings, I have shown a continuous conveyor belt 6, which movesthe seed after it has been swept from the comb I to one end of the frame3, where it is dumped into a hopper or container, not shown. It is to beunderstood that the conveyor 6 is not a part of this invention, sinceany kind of a conveyor may be used, or the seed may remain in a troughor on a platform to the rear of the comb.

Journaled to bracket 1 is a shaft 8 having a framework or hub 9 at eachend thereof. There are a plurality of longitudinal parallel rods Irunning between the hubs 9 so as to form a cylindrical framework, asshown in Figures 2 and 6. The framework composed of the rods I 0 ismounted above and parallel to the upper surface of the comb I.

Pintled to the rods III are arms II which are rotatable around the rodsI 0 as a pintle (see On the ends of the arms II are fastened my wipingblades I2 which preferably consist of a strip of angle metal as shown inFigure 9. On one of the webs of the wiping blades I2, I provide acutting blade is with the cutting edge I4 projecting from th juncture ofthe two webs (see Figure 9) In order to force the wiping blades I2outwardly, I provide a rod I5, 2. portion of which projects through anaperture Id of the rod adjacent to the one to which the arms I I arepintled. The end of the rod I5 is attached to the wiping blade i2 (seeFigure 8). The aperture I6 is very much larger than th diameter of therod I5 and a. nut I1 is threaded onto the end of the rod I5 so as tolimit its movement through the aperture. A coiled helical spring I8 ispositioned between the rod I0 and the wiping blade I2. In my preferredembodiment, I have found it convenient to place the helical spring I8around the rod I5. From this construction, it is apparent that theprojection of the wiping blade from the surface of the frame may beadjusted by adjusting the nut I I on the rod I5.

The positioning of the frame of rods III and the adjustment of the nutI1 is such that as the frame of rods III rotates, the wiping blades I2will sweep across the upper face of the comb I,

- as shown in Figure 6. This action, as is appar ent, sweeps accumulatedseed across th upper surface of the comb I and onto the conveyor 6.

In Figure 3 I have shown the teeth 2 of the comb stripping the seed I 9from the stalk 20. However, at times the stalk is broken by the actionof the comb and the stalk 20 itself remains between adjacent teeth 2, asshown in Figure 4. When thi happens, the cutting edge I4 of the blade I3forces the piece of stalk 20 to the base of the comb I and shears it offso that the upper surface of the comb remains clean. This action alsopermits the lower portion of the stalk 20 to fall to the ground from thecomb I.

From the above, it is apparent that I have may be easily serviced andrepaired when necessary. The drive is quite simple since the load on therevolving wiper is relatively small. This is particularly true when theindividual blades are arranged helically around th surface of theframework.

It is to be understood that different forms of my preferred form may bemade without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a seed stripper including a horizontal strippingcomb, a comb wiper comprising a cylindrical fram rotating on an axisparallel to the surface of the comb and having projecting wiping bladescontacting the comb surface during a part of its rotation so as to wipethe stripped seed off the comb surface, said blades being shorter thanthe length of the cylindrical frame and mounted thereon parallel to theframe axis and conforming to a helical path around the frame surface,and resilient means associated with each blade and urging the sameoutwardly from said cylindrical frame.

2. In combination with a seed stripper including a horizontal strippingcomb, a comb wiper I comprising a cylindrical frame composed of parallelrods rotating on an aXis parallel to and spaced from the surface of thecomb, at least one wiping blade mounted on the ends of arms pintled toone of said rods, resilient means positioned between the blade and thadjacent rod for urging the blade outwardly from the surface of theframe, th space between the comb and the frame being less than the spacebetween the blade and the fram when the blade is in its outward positionso that the blade will wipe the comb as the frame rotates.

3. In combination with a seed stripper including a horizontal strippingcomb, a comb wiper comprising a cylindrical frame composed of parallelrods rotating on an axis parallel to and spaced from the surface of thecomb, at least one wiping blade mounted on the ends of arms pintled toone of said rods, resilient means positioned between the blade and theadjacent rod for urging the blade outwardly from the surface of theframe, the space between the comb and the frame being less than thespace between the blade and the frame when the blade is in its outwardposition so that the blade will wipe the comb as the frame rotates, andmeans limiting the action of the resilient means urging the bladeoutwardly from the frame surface.

4. In combination with a seed stripper including a horizontal strippingcomb, a comb wiper comprising a cylindrical frame composed of parallelrods rotating on an axis parallel to and spaced from the surface of thecomb, at least one wiping blade mounted on the ends of arms pintled toone of said rods, resilient means positioned between the blade and theadjacent rod for urging the blade outwardly from the surface of theframe, the space between the comb and the frame being less than thespace between the blade and the frame when the blade is in its outwardposition so that the blade will wipe the comb as the frame rotates, andmeans limiting the action of the resilient means urging the bladeoutwardly from the frame surface, said wiping blade including a cuttingedge adapted to pass overthe surface of the comb.

5. In combination with a seed stripper including a horizontal strippingcomb, a comb wiper axis parallel to the surface of the comb and having aplurality of projecting wiping blades contacting the comb surface duringa part of its rotation so as to wipe the stripped seed off the combsurface, each of said wiping blades comprising a length of angle metal,arms pivoted to the frame surface, said blades being mounted on saidarms, and springs urging said blades individually outwardly from saidframe surface.

6. The combination of claim 5 including a rod for each of said springs,each of said rods being attached to a wiping blade, said frame includingmembers having apertures to receive said rods, said rods extendingthrough said apertures, each of said springs surrounding a said red andbeing positioned between a said blade and a said apertured frame member,and abutment means on each rod on that side of said apertured framemember opposite its respective said spring.

7. The combination of claim 6 in which each said abutment means isadjustable along the length of its respective said rod.

8. The combination of claim 5 including a cutting knife aflixed to eachof said wiping blades.

JACOB DOUGLAS GAY, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 491,264 Rekart Feb. 7, 1893 501,424 Hyde July 11, 1893 656,830Whitney et al Aug. 28, 1900 1,113,602 Christensen Oct. 13, 19141,133,720 Glaze Mar. 30, 1915

